I Loved You Then
by DejaBlue1972
Summary: BobbyOC. A slightly AU look at how Bobby and Angel first met. Read and enjoy.


**Author's Notes: Yes, My muse/inspiration has been kicking me in the butt. This is a corny/fluffy/mushy/whatever you want to call it Bobby and Angel oneshot. The idea for this has been rolling around in my brain for about 6 months now. This is AU in the fact I've altered where Angel was born. Anyway, LO:CI and its characters belong to Dick Wolf and company; I'm just taking them for a spin in my imagination. Any and all mistakes made are my own. Read and enjoy. :o)**

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Thursday, February 10, 1972  
Saint Joseph Hospital  
New York City, New York  
Doreen Reed's Room

"Bobby, Doreen asked you a question," Frances Goren said. 10 year old Bobby Goren was staring out of the window at the falling snow. A few minutes earlier, he had been blowing on the cold glass, doodling in the condensation that formed. "Huh?" he said without turning around. He was too preoccupied with watching which direction the wind was blowing the snowflakes.

"When people are talking to you, it's good manners to turn around and look at them," Frances scolded. Bobby slumped his shoulders and sighed heavily as he turned around to look at his mother. Doreen, Frances' first cousin, and her husband Cal laughed as Frances shook her index finger at her youngest son. "Don't be too hard on him, Frances," Cal said. "He's just bored outta his mind waiting for the nurse to bring the baby around."

"Well, he should have brought some more comic books with him like Frankie did. Then he wouldn't be so bored," Frances said. 13 year old Frank Goren was sitting, actually slouching, in a chair by the window, holding a comic book in front of his face. Bobby turned his head to look at his brother. He laughed as he watched him roll his eyes in such an exaggerated and dramatic way that only a teenager could do.

Frances narrowed her eyes at her sons. She was about to say something when Doreen interrupted her by saying, "It's alright, Frances. I don't expect Bobby to keep all of that energy bottled up for too long." He looked at her. She gave him a wink that made him smile. Cal reached into the back pocket of his pants, pulling out his wallet. He opened it and took out 2 crisp 5 dollar bills. "Here you go, fellas. Don't spend it all in one place," he said.

* * *

Frank quickly jumped up, tossing his comic book aside and followed Bobby's lead in taking the money from Cal's hand and heading out the door. They stopped in their tracks when Frances called their names. "Frank, look out for your brother," she said. "Okay, Mom," he said. He hustled Bobby out of the door as fast as he could before she could say anything else. She rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. "Boys," she muttered.

"What are you gonna do with your money?" Bobby asked. Frank shrugged. "I don't know. Buy a couple of candy bars and a soda, I guess." When they reached the elevators, Frank pushed the down button, but Bobby pushed the up button. A disgusted look crossed Frank face. "What you do that for?" he asked. "I wanna see the new baby," Bobby replied. Frank blew out a breath and said, "Why do you want to see some stupid icky baby anyway? Geez, you can see it when we get back to the room."

"It's not a stupid icky baby," Bobby said defensively. "It's our new cousin Cheryl." Frank scoffed as he rolled his eyes. "Same difference," he said. The elevator going up arrived first. "I'm tired of waiting in that stupid room for the nurse to bring the baby. I'm gonna go see her myself," Bobby said as he got on the empty elevator. "You better not get lost or get into any trouble," Frank said as the elevator doors starting closing, "Or I'll tell Mom on you."

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Thursday, February 10, 1972  
Saint Joseph Hospital  
New York City, New York  
Nursery Floor

Bobby got off the elevator and followed the signs to the nursery. He actually followed the crowd of new proud parents, siblings and grandparents that were heading to the nursery. He made his way to the window, searching for his new little cousin. "My name's Tommy. You looking for your new brother or sister?" a boy about Bobby's age asked him. "Nah," he said. "I'm looking for my new girl cousin. My name's Bobby. " "Oh. I'm looking for my baby brother," Tommy said.

Bobby took 2 small steps to the left as he continued his search. Tommy did the same. "There she is," Bobby said, pointing to the baby girl in the 2nd row. Tommy nodded and pointed to the baby boy that was next to her. "That's my baby brother. His name is Simon. What's your cousin's name?" "Cheryl," Bobby replied. Both boys looked at their new baby brother and new baby cousin, respectively, and the other babies in silence. When one of the nurses picked up Cheryl, Bobby waved and smiled. The nurse smiled back. She walked over to the window, turning the baby so that Bobby could see her better. "See ya later, Cheryl," Bobby said when the nurse walked away.

"We gonna see our new baby girl today, Mama?" a little voice asked loudly. Bobby, Tommy and the other people standing around turned their heads in the direction of the voice. The question came from a little boy with black hair, brown eyes and medium brown skin. He looked to be about 2 years old. With him were his 3 older brothers (two of which were fraternal twins), ages 3 and 4, and their parents. The boys had the same hair color and skin tone like their father. Their mother had brown hair, gray eyes and caramel colored skin.

The new mother, who was wearing a light pink robe, laughed. "Yes, James," she replied. "We're gonna see our baby girl today. Let's see if we can find her." The family of six began looking for their new addition. Bobby decided that he would help them. He looked up and down the rows very carefully. He was near the end of the first row when he spotted a baby girl with brown hair and caramel skin. He looked at the baby, then at the mother. He looked at the baby one more time to be sure he had the right one.

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Bobby walked over to the new mother and tugged at her sleeve. "I found her," he said, pointing at the glass. She looked down at him and smiled. "Thank you, young man," she said. She turned to her husband and said, "Charles, this helpful young man found her," nodding at Bobby. "She's over here." The family followed Bobby to where he had found the baby. "There she is," he said as they gathered around him.

Charles picked up the 4 year old and one of the twins so that they could see their new sister. "Charles, I'm not going to be able to pick up both of the boys," the mother said. "I…I can pick one of them up if you want me to," Bobby said. She looked down at him and smiled, her gray eyes shining. "Thank you. That's very kind of you," she said. She looked at James and said, "He's going to pick you up so you can see your sister." The little boy looked at Bobby, then at his mother. She smiled and nodded her head as she touched his cheek. "It's okay, sweetie."

While the new mother picked up her other twin son, James held out his arms to Bobby as he reached down to pick him up. He grunted a little as he placed him firmly on his hip. Bobby pointed and said, "Look. There's your sister." James repeatedly touched the glass with his index finger, a big smile on his face. "Look, Mama! Our baby girl!" Everyone standing there laughed at his enthusiasm. "What's your sister's name?" Bobby asked. "Ann-gee-ca," James replied proudly. Charles chuckled. He glanced sideways at his wife and said, "Laurel, I told you he said her name like that last night."

"That's a very pretty name," Bobby said hesitantly. Laurel pressed her lips to suppress her laughter. "It's Angelica," she said. "Angel for short." Bobby nodded and said, "Oh." One of the nurses picked up baby Angel, taking her closer to the window. "My baby girl!" James said excitedly to Bobby. He smiled at the little boy. "That's a pretty baby girl," he said. When the nurse motioned that she was going to bring the baby to Laurel's room, she and Charles nodded and set their boys on the ground. Bobby did the same thing with James.

Laurel held out her hand towards Bobby. "I'm Laurel Pierson." "I'm Bobby Goren," he said as he shook her hand. "I'm pleased to meet you, Bobby Goren. This is my husband Charles and our sons: Chance, Marcus, Anthony and James," she said, pointing to each person. "James, tell Bobby thank you for picking you up." James hid himself behind Laurel's arm, but he peeked out and said, "Thank you," before hiding again. The happy family told Bobby good bye as they walked away. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his five dollar bill. He knew exactly what he was going to do with his money.

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Thursday, February 10, 1972  
Saint Joseph Hospital  
New York City, New York  
Laurel Pierson's Room

"Come in," Laurel Pierson said at the quiet knock on her door. The door slowly opened and in walked Bobby. He was holding a light blue, stuffed windup elephant in his hands. "Hi, Bobby," the Pierson family said in unison. He waved at all of them. Laurel motioned for him to come further into the room. He walked closer to the bed. He held the stuffed toy out to Laurel. "I got this for the baby." She took it from him, turning the key on its back. "You Are My Sunshine" started playing. Laurel hummed along, a big smile on her face. "Thank you, Bobby. This is a beautiful gift," she said.

James, who was sitting on Charles' lap, pointed at the plastic hospital bassinet that was next to the bed. "You wanna hold Ann-gee-ca, Bobby?" he asked. Laurel and Charles chuckled at James' unique way of saying his baby sister's name. "Can I?" Bobby asked. Laurel nodded, pointing at a chair that was next to her bed. "Have a seat right there." Charles stood up and placed James down on Laurel's bed. He said teasingly as he picked up his newborn daughter, "She's a day old and already has boys knocking on her door. I see I'm gonna have to beat them off with a stick."

Bobby sat all the way back in the chair just like Laurel had told him to do. Charles came around and gently placed little Angelica Marie Pierson into Bobby's arms. "Make sure you cradle her head," Laurel said. He raised his arm higher to get a better look at the baby. "Hi, Angel," he said softly. The baby squirmed a little in his arms. She let out a big yawn, then opened her eyes.

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A big smile broke out across Bobby's face. He looked at Laurel and said excitedly, "She's got gray eyes like you!" Laurel just laughed and nodded. He waved his fingers at her. "Hi, Angel. Hi, baby girl." Angel reached up and grabbed Bobby's index finger. She gave him a big toothless smile before letting out another big yawn. Bobby's heart jumped for joy. Laurel wound up the toy elephant again. "Sing to her, Bobby," she said.

Bobby slowly rocked his body from side to side as he started singing.

_You are my sunshine_

_My only sunshine._

_You make me happy_

_When skies are gray._

_You'll never know dear_

_How much I love you._

_Please don't take my sunshine away._

"Charles, take a picture," Laurel said quietly through her tears. James patted her leg. "You okay, Mama?" he asked. She reached over and patted his head. "I'm fine, Baby Boy. Mama's just fine." Charles picked up his Instamatic camera and pointed it at Bobby and Angel. "Bobby, look this way and smile," he said. Bobby held Angel up a little bit higher as he smiled big for the camera.

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Friday, February 9, 2007  
Angel's Home  
New York City Suburb, 10:00 a.m.

Angel hummed to herself as she went to get the mail. Today was her 35th birthday. As she opened the door, the mail carrier was coming up the steps and onto the porch. "Good morning, Nina." "Hey, Angel. Good morning to you, too," Nina said. She reached into her bag and pulled out a stack of mail. "Happy birthday, Angel," Nina said as she handed the stack to Angel. She laughed and said, "Thank you, Nina."

Angel closed and locked the door. She flipped through the mail, seeing all the birthday cards from her friends and family. She sat down on the couch, laying the mail on the coffee table. She opened the envelope from her parents first. When she opened the card, another envelope fell out onto the floor. She picked it up as she read the card, a big smile on her face. She laid the card down and picked up the envelope that had fallen out. On the front of it were the words, "You'll get a kick out of this. Love, Mami."

Angel opened the envelope, pulling out its contents. It was a Instamatic picture. "No way," she said to herself. She looked closer at the picture. "That can't be…Bobby?" Angel got up, picture in hand and headed towards the computer/T.V. room. She picked up Bobby's photo album that was laying on the couch. She opened it to the 2nd page to a picture of a young Bobby. She compared it to the picture in her hand. "Oh my!" she softly exclaimed. "That is Bobby holding me when I was a baby."

Angel pulled her cell phone out of her pants pocket and called Laurel to ask her where the picture came from. Laurel laughed. "I found it stuck behind some old pictures I found," she said. "Bobby won't believe this when I show it to him. I'll bet he doesn't even remember," Angel said. She thanked Laurel for the card and picture, then hung up. She walked to the kitchen.

* * *

Bobby was standing in the kitchen, stirring at the pot of homemade chili he was making especially for Angel. She walked up to him and gave him a mysterious smile, her hands behind her back. He looked at her warily. "What are you hiding behind your back, Ms. Birthday Girl?" he asked with a sly smile. She held the picture up to him with both hands. "Do you remember this?" she asked.

"What in the world," Bobby muttered as he took the picture from Angel. He smiled as he looked at the picture. "I remember this day," he said. "What do you remember?" Angel asked. Bobby told her about how he had ended up at the hospital that day. "I was already on the nursery floor when your family came looking for you. I found you and pointed you out to them. I picked up your brother James so that he could see you."

Bobby chuckled to himself. "What's so funny?" Angel asked him as she slipped her arms around his waist. "James could not say your full name correctly for anything. He kept saying "Ann-gee-ca." Angel laughed too. Bobby put his arms around her. "You know that windup light blue stuffed elephant you have sitting on your dresser?" he asked. She nodded. "I bought that for you down in the gift shop. The sales clerk let me have it for 2 dollars."

Angel looked at Bobby with surprise. "No way," she said. He nodded. "Yes way." "I've carried that elephant everywhere with me. I always thought Mami bought it for me." "Nope, it was me. I came up to your mom's room after I got it. I gave to her. James asked me if I was going to hold you. Laurel said I could. Your dad put you in my arms after I sat down." Bobby looked down at Angel, rubbing his nose against hers.

"You opened your eyes and looked at me. I was so excited because you had gray eyes," Bobby said quietly. "When you grabbed my finger and smiled at me, I was the happiest kid in the whole entire world." "What else happened?" Angel asked. Bobby shrugged. "Laurel told me to sing to you. I sung 'You Are My Sunshine.' Charles snapped the picture. End of story."

Angel looked up at Bobby and smiled. She was always happy to hear stories about her childhood. "I want to tell you something," Bobby said. "This is going to be the corniest thing I'll probably ever say to you." "What could you possibly say to me that would be corny?" she asked with a smile. "I know I love you now, but I think I fell in love with you back then."


End file.
